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WESTFIELD, N.J. --- Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07), member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, today announced the Short Hills-based Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation has secured a $6.5 million federal grant for its work on quality of life and independent living initiatives for people living with paralysis.

“This merit-based grant is going to the right people. Christopher and Dana Reeve built a public health entity making a major difference in the lives of many Americans with terrible disabilities. Those families and loved ones are counting on the Foundation’s research and breakthroughs. And the federal government needs to be working with leading private groups to make sure public and private efforts are coordinated and effective. The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation does incredible work and this grant is going to make a positive difference,” said Lance.

Peter Wilderotter, president and CEO of the Reeve Foundation, added, “We were thrilled to learn that the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation was selected to be the recipient of the National Paralysis Resource Center cooperative agreement from the Administration for Community Living (ACL). We are so honored to continue our critical work on behalf of the over five million Americans living with paralysis, their families and loved ones. We look forward to our continued partnership with ACL and are deeply grateful to Representative Leonard Lance who helped lead efforts to restore the PRC’s budget after proposed elimination.”

Lance has led the effort in Congress to appropriate funding for the Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) within the Administration for Community Living (ACL) – agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The funding was proposed for elimination in the President’s budget request, but Lance and other lawmakers forcefully defended the work of Reeve and other entities. The PRC includes a network of Information Specialists, a number of veterans’ initiatives, a Peer and Family Support Program and a substantial Quality of Life Grants Program. These programs do not exist within any other federal entity so Lance and a bipartisan team made the case that eliminating federal funds would jeopardize vital services and supports for paralyzed Americans.